Led by forward Jordan Lovick, the St. Thomas men’s hockey team opened its home schedule with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Gustavus Friday night at St. Thomas Ice Arena.

Gustavus started the scoring with a goal by forward Van Sullivan that bounced past St. Thomas goaltender Joe Morris midway through the first period. Morris described it as “just a fluke goal that I’d want back.”

Things slowed down until the Tommies went on the power play after Gustie Tim Donohue was called for interference at center ice. St. Thomas scored on the ensuing power play when Lovick pounced on a rebound after a redirected shot alongside the net.

Gustavus was quick to respond though, closing the period on its own terms. Defenseman Will Holtan crossed a pass to forward Jake McCann, who slapped it top shelf on Morris with just 27 seconds left in the period.

St. Thomas coach Jeff Boeser was not happy with the way things went in the first period, but he was pleased with the way his team responded.

“The last two games we have not had good starts, so we have to figure that out, but I just like their push back,” Boeser said. “Second and third period, they came out and played with energy.”

Lovick had similar thoughts.

“(We) came out slow in the first period,” Lovick said. “But second and third period we really dominated.”

The second period remained scoreless all the way through, despite many good chances from both teams. The Tommies had their best chance on their only power play of the period when they barraged Gustie goaltender Erik Johnson with an array of shots, including a wide-open chance from forward Nick Nielsen that never found the net. Two Gustavus power plays followed in the period, but a solid effort from a Tommie penalty kill prevented any more goals.

“Our kill has been good, but you know a lot of that has to do with guys buying in and doing what they’re supposed to do,” Boeser said.

The Tommies came out firing in the third and finished the stanza with seventeen shots.

“We had so many chances,” Lovick said. “It could have been a lot less close than it was.”

One of those chances was a blast from the blue line off defenseman John Kirtland’s stick. It resulted in a game-tying goal with 3:37 to go in the game. Then with just 31 seconds remaining, Lovick capped the comeback and put the Tommies ahead for the first time in the game.

“I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time,”he said.

Boeser was especially pleased with the senior leadership.

“I gotta give my seniors credit tonight; they’re the ones that needed to lead, and they led,” Boeser said. “The last two goals were scored by seniors, and that’s what you need.”

Morris was pleased with his team’s performance.

“We always know that we can be the best team on the ice, and we showed it,” Morris said.

St. Thomas out-shot Gustavus 41 to 21. The two teams face off again Saturday in St. Peter.

Jack Burke can be reached at jtburke@stthomas.edu.

*Willie Faust, pictured in the first image of the slideshow, is employed by TommieMedia as a reporter; however, TommieMedia and its staff will continue to report on St. Thomas men’s hockey without bias.